[nfb-talk] A Vehicle That Would Drive It Self

Wed Oct 31 06:46:18 CDT 2007

Dear Terry,,

Never stop dreaming.
Otherwise, your mind won't have anything to do all night but sleep.

David Evans, NFBF

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Powers, Terry (NIH/OD/DEAS) [E]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 7:27 AM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Vehicle That Would Drive It Self

Go David Go!

I never thought I would have my own home, but I started out in in a
complex for seniors and handicapped.  Then I bought my first condo with
a little help from HOC and now, in may of 06, I sold my first condo and
bought my second.  It has everything I need.  My little dream home!
I also got my one and only job from working 2 summers and volenteering
during the 2 winters, to prove that I wanted to work. A position was
created for me and I have held it for 21 years!
CAP bought my Braille Note, but I payed for my transplant to an M-power
and I am proud to say, I was able to do it.  Many ask me, whay didn't
you ask the government to pay for it.  CAP will not cover upgrades and
most likely my job would not cover it since I had the Braille Note.  I
wanted the upgrade and am proud to say I bought it for myself.  I also
got the KNFB reader and the Stream.  
It took HOC, CAP, my office and a lot of hard work to get where I am
now.  Also thanks to the NFB!

Terry Powers

-----Original Message-----
From: David Evans [mailto:drevans at bellsouth.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 11:46 PM
To: 'NFB Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Vehicle That Would Drive It Self

Dear Ray,

I was not at the convention this year so I am in the dark as to what was
exactly voted on as regards this subject.
I don't feel that the NFB should be spending funds of trying to perfect
such a vehicle.  There are other organizations and agencies much better
equipped and funded to do this.
The Military is likely the best as they have a pressing need to supply
transport with less manpower.
The nice things is that we will , in the end, benefit from this military
need.
I am sure that there is no prohibition against us discussing it and I am
sure that we will wind up contributing to it in some space of time in
the future.
No one can tell me that I can not dream or encourage others to think and
dream too.
I believe that we all can benefit from the vision.  That is all I offer
here is the discussion of dreams for we never know where a dream may
lead us.
Sometimes dreams come true, it has happened to me.
I dreamed of competing in the Olympics and did.  I dreamed of building
machines that would not just go into outer space, but to the Moon and it
happened.
I am dreaming of a car that one day not only will the Blind be able to
drive, but the rest of mankind as well.  I know it will happen because I
saw it in my dreams and dreams do come to pass.
"The difficult we do immediately."
The impossible just takes a little longer...Kelly Johnson, engineer.
"

David Evans, NFBF

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Ray Foret Jr
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 9:46 AM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Vehicle That Would Drive It Self

Since the convention firmly decided not to pursue such an objective as
this,

how is this relevant to us?  Dr. Maurer asked the national convention
whether we wanted to have anything to do with it; and, the convention
firmly

decided against it.

Sincerely yours,
The Constantly Barefooted,
Ray
Home phone and fax:
(985)853-0139
E-mail:
rforetjratbellsouthdotnet
Skype Name:
barefootedray
Blog:
www.raysworld.blogs.com
Podcast .rss Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/worldofray

God bless President George W. Bush!
God bless our troops!
and God bless America
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Bullis" <mabullis at hotmail.com>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 7:06 AM
Subject: [nfb-talk] A Vehicle That Would Drive It Self

>From today's Washington Post.

A Vehicle That Would Drive Itself By:Warren Brown The U.S. military,
bedeviled by improvised explosive devices and other deadly ordnance
deployed
against
troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been looking for ways to move
supplies
in urban combat zones without unnecessarily exposing soldiers to harm.

In pursuit of that goal, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,
the
government group responsible for bringing forth new military tools, has
launched
a national campaign to develop autonomous driving technology --
essentially
trucks and other wheeled carriers that can move supplies from one point
to
another sans human drivers . . . and without humans operating remote
control
devices. The vehicles under development must also be able to identify
and
maneuver around obstacles, safely go around curves and corners, stop and
go
when appropriate, and self-park. It seems an impossible order to fill.
But
36 advanced automotive technology teams, drawn from industry and higher
education and combinations thereof, are hoping to prove to DARPA that
they
have
the right stuff to carry out the autonomous driving mission. The teams,
including one involving General Motors and Carnegie Mellon University,
are
participants
in the DARPA Urban Challenge, a robotic vehicle race that will be held
Saturday at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif.
National
qualification
trials for the race are being held at the same place this weekend.
Competitive vehicles will have to navigate safely through a 60-mile
urban
area course,
replete with merging traffic, stop signs and busy intersections, in six
hours or less. But it is not a contest in which the fastest team
necessarily
wins,
said DARPA Director Tony Tether. He said the winner, assuming there is
one,
will be the team with the best overall performance. Put another way, the
winning
vehicle will have to behave as well as a driver-education student trying
to
ace the driver's test, said Larry Burns, GM's vice president for
research
and
development and strategic planning. That means it will have to obey
traffic
signs, follow the rules of the road," all without a human driver or
human-operated
remote control, Burns said. I'm excited about this project, more excited
about it than almost anything we've done," said Burns, who acknowledged
the
potential
benefits autonomous driving technology has for the military. But if the
technology proves out and becomes widely used, it could have enormous
environmental
and safety benefits in civilian applications, Burns said. For example,
elements of autonomous driving technology can be employed to improve
urban
traffic
flow, thereby reducing traffic congestion and eliminating much of the
fuel
waste and air pollution that go along with it. Radar-equipped cars that
automatically
adjust their speeds and space themselves -- allowing a relatively free
flow
of traffic through intersections, even without stoplights -- could also
reduce
traffic collisions and all of the pain, suffering and monetary losses
caused
by those crashes, Burns said. But he and other proponents of the
technology
concede that the military probably is more willing to put autonomously
driven vehicles into use. The dangers in theaters of war are extreme. If
there is
a viable technology that can keep soldiers out of harm's way on supply
missions, the military wants it. Civilian driver psychology is
different.
Most people
who love driving love it because they feel in control. Even with the
proliferation of electronic systems designed to make driving safer and
easier, most
drivers loathe the idea of turning their vehicle over to computer chips,
sensors and algorithms. All of those things are involved in the
operation of
autonomously
driven vehicles such as GM's Urban Challenge entry, an experimental
Chevrolet Tahoe SUV called the "Boss," in honor of Charles F. "Boss"
Kettering, the
founder of GM's research and development division. The "Boss" features a
compendium of computer controls for driving, radars, lasers and cameras
for
situation
assessment. Special computer software has been developed to enable the
vehicle to drive itself. We are actively developing cars that can drive
themselves,
and the DARPA Urban Challenges gives us an excellent opportunity to
demonstrate our progress," Burns said. Even if GM loses in the contest,
"we
win," said
Burns, who said GM's autonomous driving technology research so far
proves
that newer, more sensibly applied computer technology can lead to a
world
"where
there are no crashes and very little traffic congestion." Besides, said
Burns, "I truly believe that somebody will win this contest. Someone
will
come
out ahead." And that's good because it will push automotive companies to
do
more research, work out the bugs and perfect the technology, Burns said.

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